By Barry Reynolds, C1 Contributor
One of the great advantages of our technology-driven world is that we can instantly communicate with almost anyone, anywhere. Hand-written notes are a thing of the past; they have given way to text messages and emails. In our digital workplace, we can get more done, contact more people, and distribute more information in an hour than ever before.
There is a cost, however, to such ease and convenience. As we have come to rely on the efficiency and instant availability of our technology, we have also become distant and disconnected from each other. The value of personal interaction has taken a back seat to the sound of an email arriving in our inbox.
For managers and supervisors, this focus on quick communications and maximizing efficiency in the digital age is undermining our leadership effectiveness. After all, leadership doesn’t transmit very well via an Ethernet cable. If the people that you lead are more likely to see an email from you than they are to actually see you in person stopping by for a chat, then it’s time to revive the simple but endangered practice of MBWA — “Management by Walking Around.”
High morale helps officers cope with the day-to-day demands, the ups and downs of the job, and with issues and discouragement that often coincide with them.
MBWA has been recognized for decades as a useful and valid approach to leadership and communications. The concepts of MBWA are easy and simple: in order to stay connected to the people that you lead and motivate, you need to interact with them on their terms and in their workplace — not yours. This means getting away from your desk, working alongside others, asking questions, and being there to help when they need it.
For the police leader, there are many advantages to MBWA. First, you are able to see first-hand what is really going on in the workplace and the challenges that your people are facing everyday. By asking questions and listening to the answers, you may discover solutions to procedural or organizational problems that you hadn’t previously considered. By interacting on a personal basis with the people that you lead, you will learn more about them, what motivates them, and how you can be a better leader for them.
Whether you’re a leader that actively practices MBWA or someone that would like to implement it into your leadership strategy, there are four rules to making it work.
1. Your goal has to be genuine. Getting out of your office is the first step, but it’s not the purpose of MBWA. The goal of MBWA is to build personal connections and to be viewed as a leader that is engaged and approachable.
Be sincere and be authentic. If you ask them a question, listen to the answer. If you offer to help with something, follow through. Don’t ever given the impression that you have something better to do, or spend more time talking than listening. Going through the motions of MBWA can be more damaging to work relationships and group morale than not doing it at all.
2. Be yourself. A relaxed and casual approach is usually best; it puts people at ease and shows that you enjoy talking and spending time with them.
People feel better about their workplace and their organization when they feel they have opportunities to be heard and when their ideas are given fair consideration by someone they can relate to. When your employees see you in this light they will be more likely to trust you and share issues with you before those issues become organizational problems.
3. Put your supervisory duties on hold. Absent a significant problem or safety issue, don’t use this as an opportunity to correct or instruct others. Once employees get the idea that your only purpose in walking around is to find fault or catch them in doing something wrong, you won’t be viewed as a welcomed part of the workplace.
If you see something that needs to be changed or corrected — and, in all likelihood, you will — make a mental note of it, take it back to your office, and handle it privately, later.
4. Be consistent. Nothing erodes trust and communications faster than the manager who only shows up infrequently or only when it’s convenient for them.
To be successful, your MBWA approach has to become a habit and it has to be viewed as an important part of your supervisory duties. Put it on your schedule, and when the time comes to take a walk, do it.
Even if you only encounter one person doing their job, you will have the opportunity to make a connection with that person, and to learn something about them and how they do their job. That alone is worth the ten minutes out of your day.
The next time you find yourself spending more time communicating with your keyboard than your people, do yourself and your team a favor: step away from the computer and take a walk.
About the author
Barry Reynolds is an author, instructor, and the owner of Police Leadership Resources and the Policeleaders.com website. Barry retired from active law enforcement with over thirty years of experience, including fourteen years of supervisory experience. Barry is a certified instructor with the International Association of Chief’s of Police in the prestigious Leadership in Police Organizations Program, the flagship leadership development program of the IACP. Barry is an independent instructor with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, teaching leadership to law enforcement officers statewide. He writes extensively on issues related to leadership and management in law enforcement agencies.
Barry hold’s a Master of Science Degree in Management and is a Certified Project Manager. He is a graduate of the Law Enforcement Executive Development Institute and the IACP’s Leadership in Police Organizations (LPO) Program. He is an adjunct professor with the University of Phoenix and has been an instructor and presenter at state and national training conferences. His police leadership website, www.policeleaders.com, has a growing audience of law enforcement leaders from the United States and has had visitors from over 4o other countries.
During his active law enforcement career Barry served as both a patrol and investigative supervisor, and also held positions as the 911 Communications Supervisor and Field Training Unit Supervisor. As detective supervisor, Barry coordinated an eighteen-month investigation with the U.S. Marshals Service that led to the fugitive capture of Wisconsin’s Most Wanted Sex Offender. Through his expertise in policy and program development he wrote the department’s Recruit Officer Field Training and Evaluation Program, which has been used as a model field training program by other police agencies. He also wrote an extensive investigative response plan for responding to incidents of missing and abducted children, and created and trained a departmental investigative response team specifically for missing children investigations. His investigative and training manual was later approved for publication by the Department of Justice and the Wisconsin Attorney Generals office and is available to all law enforcement officers in the state. As a recognized expert in the field, Barry was selected by the Wisconsin Department of Justice to serve on the committee that created the Wisconsin Child Abduction Response Team Program. He later served as the coordinator of the police department’s Neighborhood Officer Program and led the development of the department’s Strategic Policing Plan.
Upon his retirement from active law enforcement, the City of Middleton, Wisconsin issued a Proclamation in his honor for his distinguished career of public service. His career accomplishments included two Outstanding Service Awards, an Exemplary Performance Award, the Department Award for Bravery, and the State of Wisconsin Amber Alert Award for the successful recovery of three abducted children.